Chilton has big money for Force India seat at expense of Hulkenberg

A lack of sponsors and the power of pay-drivers could lock Nico Hulkenberg out of Formula 1, despite the German being the hot property at the tail-end of the 2014 silly season, linked with moves to Lotus, McLaren and Force India.

McLaren, however, is tipped to stick with the Mexican-backed Sergio Perez, while Pastor Maldonado’s PDVSA millions are speaking loudly at Lotus, whose 35 per cent team sale to a group of investors may have failed.

Staying at Sauber could be problematic for Hulkenberg because of the importance of Sergey Sirotkin, Esteban Gutierrez or even Vitaly Petrov’s powerful backers, and even a return to Force India may now be off the table.